I've developed my interest on this Variety Show. I guess after being so loyal to 2 Days & 1 Night I've finally found another interesting show that makes me goes crazy laughing, smiling and screaming without realizing it... What I really like about this show is the way it makes you tense... Locking up in a building and start completing missions... this is just my type of game hahaha.

Running Man ( Korean: 런닝맨 ) is a South Korean variety show; a part of SBS's Good Sunday lineup, along with Heroes ( 영웅호걸 ). It was first aired on July 11, 2010. This show is classified as an "urban action variety"; a never-before-seen new genre of variety shows and will greatly involve the participation of viewers. The MCs and guests are locked in a landmark during closed hours and are required to leave before opening hours. The first team to leave will win, while the losing team will be punished in the landmark. It has garnered attention as being the come-back program for Yu Jae-suk, the main MC of the program, after leaving Good Sunday's Family Outing in February 2010.

Running Man Members:

Yu Jae-suk

The main host of the show, Yu Jae-suk is known as Yu-ruce Willis (유르스 윌리스) during the race mission where he is good at running away. The name is a parody of Bruce Willis in Die Hard. He is also known as Yu Hyuk (유혁), acting as a popular student that can dance well.

Ji Suk-jin

The oldest member of the show. Ji Suk-jin is known as Big Nose Older Brother (왕코형님) for his known big nose. He is often shown as weak during the race mission and is frequently and easily caught.

Kim Jong-kook

The strongest man on the show, Kim Jong-kook is known as Sparta-kook-s (스파르타국스) and Capable One (능력자) for his skill in capturing others during the race mission. Sparta-kook-s is a parody of Spartacus.

Ha-ha

Ha-ha is usually picked on by the other members. He is known as Ha-roro (하로로) for his similar appearance to Pororo the Little Penguin. During the race mission, he is referred to as Ha-rad Pitt (하래드 피트), which is a parody of Brad Pitt.

Lee Kwang-su

Featured as one of the "variety rookies", Lee Kwang-su has build an image known as Intriguing Kwang-su (모함광수), where he frames his fellow members with embarrassing and often absurd rumors.

Song Joong-ki

Featured as one of the "variety rookies", Song Joong-ki is known for his good-looks and is referred to as Flower Joong-ki (꽃중기), meaning pretty. He is also known for being smart and is referred to as Brain Joong-ki (브레인 중기).

Gary (Leessang)

Featured as one of the "variety rookies", Gary is known as Calm Gary (평온개리) for his calm facial expressions during the Photo Zone Game and throughout the show. He is also known as Ga-colas Cage (개콜라스 케이지) during the race mission, which is a parody of Nicolas Cage.

Song Ji-hyo

Formerly the only female member of the show, Song Ji-hyo is known as Song Ji-yok (송지욕), where "yok" means "to abuse", because of her abuse toward some of the members like Lee Kwang-su and Ha-ha. She is also known as Mung Ji-hyo (멍지효), where "mung" means "confused", because of her facial expressions which makes her seem confused.

Lizzy

The newest member of Running Man and member of girl group After School, Lizzy is known as the cute country girl from Busan. She leaves the show on hiatus. (Episode 24)

Relation

Kim Jong-kook and his two kids (김종국과 아이둘)

Kim Jong-kook, Ha-ha, Gary

Often found in the same team, Ha-ha and Gary often appear afraid and are usually under the control of Kim Jong-kook.

Monday Couple (월요커플)

Gary, Song Ji-hyo

The scandalous couple of the show, they show interest in each other on Mondays, the day Running Man is recorded.

Song-Song Couple (송송커플)

Song Joong-ki, Song Ji-hyo

This relation officially appeared in episode 25, however the couple's loveline have attracted a lot of viewers’ attention since episode 15.

FormatThe MCs and guests are locked in a landmark during closed hours and are required to leave before opening hours. In the first episode, they are divided into two teams and race to find the code to the main doors hidden in the landmark. With a total of 5 numbers, after one is found, a game is played to determine which team will start first in the next race. The losing team receives a punishment while the other team has a head start. After all numbers are found by either teams, they reach the door and enter the code they believe is correct. The correct team leaves the landmark while the losing team is punished inside the landmark.

As of the second episode, both teams will compete to find money hidden in the landmark and participate in games to win more money. The team with the most money will escape the landmark and win, while the losing team will be punished in the landmark. The money collected by the teams will be donated in the winning teams honour. Viewers can vote on the official homepage on who they believe will escape the landmark first, a lucky viewer who guesses correctly will have his/her name included in the donation.

As of the sixth episode, both teams compete to find Running Man Balls, the team which finds a ball or who wins a game will receive a ball of their team color (blue or red). In the end, the teams will put the Running Man Balls collected throughout the night into a lottery machine. Which ever color ball that comes out first will represent that team winning. The more balls that are collected, the better the chances of that team's ball being chosen.

As of the seventh episode, the race mission will involve one team wearing bells chasing after the other team who is in search of hidden items. The "chasing" team will need to catch the other team by taking their name tags from their backs in one hour. The "hiding" team will need to find the 5 hidden items and not be caught by the "chasing" team before the hour ends.